Pre-op Blues (Dr Kenneth Mitchell)

If you were not anxious.....then we would worry ..GB is big surgery....good luck Gail (RNY 3/6/06 106lbs gone forever.)

Hey Candace - My husband gave me your message, but I got home too late to respond. I'm glad to hear that your a progressing through the evaluation process. I'm sorry that people at work aren't supportive. You already know that you are doing the right thing for you. Remember this is a time of new beginnings for you and a time when you start putting Candace first. That can be a tall order for those of us who have put others first for a long time. But, as you said before you want to do this and need to do this for yourself ... physically and psychologically. You are worth all of the time you need to take to get control of your health. Remember sweetheart; you are important ... don't apologize for taking time to get the medical care you need and deserve. As long as you are available to perform your duties, it shouldn't matter how many "long lunches" you take to obtain the medical care you need and deserve. ... Just think if you'd had a heart attack, been diagnosed with a curable cancer or had developed another "acceptable" medical condition, I'll bet you wouldn't be having these "issues" at work relative to the time you need to take for all of the tests and evaluations you need to have. I'll see if I can reach you tomorrow ... or feel free to give me a call again. All the best, Barbara

Barbara, Thank you so much for your posting. You are always so encouraging to me. I am almost there. Nutrician class today, CPAP and stress test next week and one more psychological eval on the 21st. Then we are off to the races. How are things going in your process? Also, I can't remember but when is the meeting for Duke again? Is it first or second Saturday? Are you coming to the next one?

Hey how are you doing.. I am having surgery with Dr Mitchell also.. I didnt get to see him until after the Patient education class. Once y ou get to that step you will probaly be set up to meet with him right away.. that is usually after youve done most things. find out when your Patient education class is.. Im sure by now you already sent in your package completed and paid that 250.00 fee? Dr. Mitchell is the BEST.. K.

Keisha, Thanks for your posting. I have to say, I read your blog and it by far has been the most insightful of the process with Dr. Mitchell. Thank you!! Good luck on your upcoming surgery. I will look forward to continuing to read your postings. Take good care. Candice

Candice, Dr Mitchell did my RNY back in August '05. I can remember like it was yesterday how it seemed like the whole process took FOREVER!!! My only advice is to just take it day by day and know that all of these appointments are to make sure any problems you may have now are dealt with properly during the whole surgical experience. I went thru the same process (except for the sleep apnea testing....it wasn't required when I had my surgery). Even with the testing I still ended up having to have 2 blood transfusions after surgery, and the bottom portion of my right lung began to collapse one day post-op (requiring breathing treatments several time a day). I honestly am not trying to scare you but just trying to make the point that Dr M wants to know of any pre-existing problems since its better to know about them ahead of time and be prepared to deal with them than to find out about problems as a surprise. I know you already know all of this....I'm just rambling, lol. As far as your job....you're doing this for your health...for your future. Don't even give a second thought about what the others think. That's one thing that I have learned thru this process. In some ways you have to be selfish, which is actually hard for some people to do. You have to put yourself first during all of this and focus on your needs especially in the beginning stages. Good luck with your whole process and feel free to PM me anytime. We may have crossed paths on Thursday. I was there for the support group meeting (although the meeting was cancelled). Take care and keep us updated.